Air freight market struggled to grow in May: IATA

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GENEVA (Reuters) - The international air freight market grew by a mere 0.1 percent in May compared to April, and was up 0.8 percent from May 2012, as slowing business confidence and weaker Asian trade undermined cargo demand, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday.

Planes also flew with more spare cargo capacity in May than a year previously, which will erode airline profits. But a recent easing of the decline in demand in the euro zone could help improve the global market overall, IATA said.

“For the moment, however, levels of business confidence are barely above stagnation and world trade growth remains subdued in advanced economies, both of which will continue to place downward pressure on air freight demand,” IATA said.